Local & State Dispatches

A 67-year-old Denmark man was badly injured when a passing tractor-trailer caused him to lose control of his bicycle and crash Thursday afternoon on Route 302 in Fryeburg, police said.

Bradford Lanoue was riding west down Hapgood Hill when the westbound truck passed him, Fryeburg’s acting police chief, Joshua Potvin, said in a press release. The truck startled the rider and the swirling wind created by the passing truck contributed to his losing control, Potvin said.

Lanoue went off the road and was thrown from his bicycle when it crashed into some shrubs.

He was taken to Bridgton Hospital, then transferred by LifeFlight helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where he was being treated in the intensive care unit Friday night. The hospital declined to release his condition.

The truck did not stop and its driver was not identified, Potvin said. A witness reported that the truck was more than the required three feet away from the cyclist, the press release said.

“We have no reason to believe that the tractor-trailer truck operator would have even known about the bicyclist crashing behind him due to the curve in the roadway,” Potvin said. “Although the crash is still under investigation, it appears that there are no pending charges at this time.”

Potvin said the stretch of road there does not have a good shoulder and Lanoue was not wearing a helmet.

WALDOBORO

Three fishermen arrested in lobster boat, boathouse fire

The State Fire Marshal’s Office has arrested three men in connection with a fire two years ago that destroyed a Waldoboro boathouse and a 36-foot lobster boat that was inside.

Investigators from the fire marshal’s office and Maine Marine Patrol conducted dozens of interviews, served search warrants and collected evidence over a two-year period before going to a grand jury last week.

Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland said a “dispute among fishermen” led to the arson fire.

Arrested were three fishermen: James Simmons, 39, of Friendship; Frederick Campbell, 30, of Friendship; and Jeffrey Luce, 36, of Whitefield. Officials say Luce was already being held on unrelated charges. Simmons was released from jail Friday on $50,000 bail while Campbell remained jailed. It was unknown if they had hired lawyers.

BANGOR

Police investigate stabbing that sent man to hospital

Bangor police are investigating a late-night stabbing that sent one man to the hospital.

Officers responded to Warren Street at about 11 p.m. Thursday after getting reports of an altercation in a driveway.

The victim had suffered a stab wound to the abdomen. He was conscious when police arrived and was taken to a hospital, but neither his name nor his condition was immediately released.

Police said one person fled the scene and they are questioning someone in connection with the stabbing, but there was no immediate word on any arrests.

Lt. Paul Edwards said there is no danger to the public.

Police are appealing to the public for any information about the stabbing.

DOVER-FOXCROFT

Man who provided murder information is sentenced

A man will serve a lenient jail sentence for robbery because he gave prosecutors information about a Bangor triple murder case.

John Harmon, 28, of Dover-Foxcroft will serve 18 months in jail for robbing a Bangor Rite Aid, WABI-TV reported. Penobscot County prosecutors originally pushed for a four-year sentence.

The station reported that Harmon provided information in the murder trial of Randall Daluz and Nicholas Sexton. A jury last month convicted Daluz of three counts of murder and one count of arson and Sexton of murder and arson.

The two stood trial on charges of killing Daniel Borders, Nicolle Lugdon and Lucas Tuscano in 2012 and setting a car on fire with the bodies inside.

AUBURN

Atheist files harassment, discrimination complaint

A former worker at a Lewiston sporting goods store has filed a lawsuit against the store and his former supervisor, saying she discriminated against him and harassed him because he is an atheist.

Jason Rines of Gardiner said in his complaint filed this week in Androscoggin County Superior Court that the harassment forced him to quit his job at the Olympia Sports store.

Rines said the supervisor made it clear she was a devout Christian and often interjected her beliefs into their conversations. He said she often pressured him to come to her church.

The lawsuit seeks lost wages and compensatory and punitive damages under state law that bars religious discrimination, the Sun Journal reported.

A lawyer representing the store’s parent company said he had no comment.

GRAY

Farmers, food vendors to help open wildlife park

Local farmers and food vendors will help open the Maine Wildlife Park to the public for free to celebrate the summer season.

The Summer Solstice Farmers Market event is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray.

There will also be a memorial service and dedication at 2 p.m. of a sugar maple tree in honor of former park Superintendent David Wilbur.The wildlife park is located at 56 Game Farm Road in Gray and normally costs $7 for adults.

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